Perspectives on the Liberal Arts and Sciences: Course Proposal Narrative
General Education Advisory Committee
Queens College, City University of New York
General Biology I — Physiology and Cell Biology
Course Title:
Justification
Please describe how the course will address criteria for Perspectives on the Liberal Arts and Sciences courses.
Be sure to include an explanation of the course’s specific learning goals for students to make a connection between these and the general criteria for Perspectives
courses.
Biology 105 is the first part of a two-semester introductory course (the second
part is numbered BIOL 106) in General Biology for Biology and other science
majors (Chemistry and Biochemistry, Computer Science, Environmental Science),
pre-health professionals students, and those majoring in related areas. We will
be submitting the second part of this course as a separate PLAS application.
Although BIOL 105 is a prerequisite for BIOL 106, we wish both parts to be
included in PLAS because some students may take only BIOL 105 (e.g., Chemistry
majors) and other students may receive credit for BIOL 106 (with adequate high
school AP scores).
After completing BIOL 105, the students will understand the cellular and
physiological basis of the human body. This understanding will be developed in a
hierarchical manner from the small and nearly invisible to the intact body. They
begin by learning how molecules are arranged and interact to form macromolecules,
then how these macromolecules are arranged to form cell parts, then how the parts
are assembled to make a cell, then how cells are arranged to make tissues, then
how tissues interact to make organs, and finally how organs interact to make the
intact body.
The laboratories are an integral part of the course: they emphasize scientific
methods and engage the students in active inquiry. Biology, like all science, is
an continuing process of trying to make sense of the world and one's relation to
it by making observations, summarizing the observations, and using the summaries
to stimulate new observations. The laboratories will emphasize this process of
discovery through experimentation and analysis allowing the student to learn how
new discoveries are made.
Why is it important for both science and non-science majors to take this course?
As the biology textbook author Neil Campbell has said, “Biology is daily news”.
Each day students read in the paper or hear on the news about DNA fingerprinting
in the courtroom, about genetically modified crops, about whether a particular
food is “good or bad for you”, about taking DNA tests for determining disease
susceptibility. These are just a few examples of how biology is woven into the
fabric of society. Perhaps more importantly, the students will learn about their
own physical and physiological makeup. They will be able to interact with their
health care providers and be proactive in their own health care. After completing
this course, the students will have a foundation on which to be able to interpret
what they read in the popular press and be equipped to live in this modern world.
Indeed, biology is “the science of our lives”.
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Criteria Checklist
Please be sure that your justification addresses all three criteria 1-3, below. For criteria 4-8, please check all that apply and discuss these in your justification.
A Perspectives course must:
1. Be designed to introduce students to
how a particular discipline creates
knowledge and understanding.
2. Position the discipline(s) within the
liberal arts and the larger society.
3. Address the goals defined for the
particular Area(s) of Knowledge the
course is designed to fulfill.
In addition, a Perspectives course will, where appropriate to its
discipline(s) and subject matter:
 4. Be global or comparative in approach.
 5. Consider diversity and the nature and construction of
forms of difference.
 6. Engage students in active inquiry.
 7. Reveal the existence and importance of change over time.
 8. Use primary documents and materials.
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Course Materials, Assignments, and Activities
Please provide an annotated list of course readings and descriptions of major assignments or exams for the course, as well as distinctive student activities that will
engage students in working toward the course goals discussed in the course description and/or justification.
Please include the author and title for each reading or text, along with a short description providing information about how the reading will contribute to course goals
Biology 105 Lecture
All assigned readings are from the text, Savada, D., H. C. Heller, G. H. Orians,
W. K. Purves and D. M. Hillis (2006) Life: The Science of Biology, eighth
edition. Sinauer Associates, Sutherland. Most of the figures used in lectures
will be taken from this edition of the textbook. Specific pages may be assigned
for reading. The students will be told to use the lecture as a guide to what
material is most important for study. The publisher provides supportive
materials for the textbook at www.thelifewire.com.
Schedule of Lectures, Assigned Readings and Exams:
Lecture
Topic
Chapter
---------------------------------------------------------------------1
Introduction, Review of Chemistry
2, 3
2
Macromolecules
3
3
Cell Structures
4
4
Cell Membranes
5
5
Energetics, Enzymes
6
6
Cell cycle and Cell Division
9
7
Genetics
10
8
DNA and DNA Replication
11
9
RNA and Protein Synthesis
12
Midterm Examination I (Chapt. 2 – 12)
10
Genomes and Gene regulation
13.4, 14
11
Respiration
7
12
Photosynthesis
8
13
Cell Signaling
14
Biotechnology and Medicine
15
16.6,
17.1,
17.2,
19.2
15
Animal Development
16
17
Organizational Levels; Homeostasis;
Thermoregulation
Endocrine Systems
43
40
41
Midterm Examination II (Chapt. up to 41)
18
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Hormones and Reproduction
42
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19
Nervous System: Cellular Physiology
44 – 47
20
Sensory Systems
44 – 47
21
Motor Systems and Movement
44 – 47
22
Respiratory Systems and Gas Exchange
Circulatory Systems and Internal
Transport
48
24
Immune System and Defense
18
25
Digestive Systems and Nutrition
50
26
Renal Systems and Osmoregulation
51
23
49
Final Examination (Chapt. 15, 18, 19, and
40 - 51)
Biology 105 Laboratory
The topics of the laboratory sessions are coordinated with the lecture topics.
The hands-on nature of each of the laboratories reinforces greatly the material
presented in the lecture. To see a picture of the heart and how it is attached to
the circulatory system is good, but to dissect the heart and the blood vessels
from a preserved fetal pig is priceless (MAT fees notwithstanding).
Required laboratory texts/books:

Walker, W.F. and D.G. Homberger (1998) Anatomy and Dissection of the Fetal
Pig, W.H. Freeman and Company, New York.
Laboratory Guidebook
Chabora, P. C. (2004) The Laboratory and Lecture Synthesis. Thomson Custom
Publishing.
Laboratory Notebook: Standard marbled-type bound book with lined paper is
recommended. You may obtain such a notebook from the Bookstore.



Laboratory Schedule
WEEK
1
2
3
4
June 2008
Topics
Microscopy, Microscope Calibration, Graphs
Goals: An introduction to the microscope as an
important tool in understanding cell and tissue
organization. First steps into the invisible world
that exists around and within us. To learn how to
properly analyze and present data in graph form.
Diffusion and Osmosis
Goals: Because biological systems are mostly water, an
understanding of the movement of materials within
solutions and across barriers (e.g., membranes) is
crucial to understanding cell function.
Cell Respiration
Goals: Use yeast to understand how cells break down
food to generate energy to support cell activities.
Histology: Basic Tissue Types
Goals: To understand the different types of cells and
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5
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
how they are arranged to form the tissues that make up
the body.
Mitosis and Meiosis; Corn genetics
Goals: To understand how cells reproduce. To learn how
gametes are formed and how this leads to variation in
offspring (or why you don’t look exactly like your
siblings).
Human Physiology
Goals: To learn how the organs of your body work
together
Enzymes: Standard Curve and pH
Goals: Cells carry out many chemical reactions to
break down food and synthesize new compounds. These
reactions are driven by enzymes whose activity is
regulated by such things as enzyme and reactant
concentrations and the conditions in which these
reactions occur. This lab explores the effects of
changing these conditions.
Biotechnology: DNA Transfer Into Bacteria and Plant
Cells
Goals: Learn techniques used by modern molecular
biologists to alter the DNA content of cells.
Important in developing new drugs and forming disease
resistant plants.
Embryology
Goals: To learn how an organism can develop from a
single cell into an adult composed of hundreds of
different cells with integrated and coordinated
functions.
Basic Mammalian Anatomy I: External, Pharynx,
Digestion, Skin
Goals: To learn the overview of the arrangement of
their own bodies by dissecting a fetal pig.
Basic Mammalian Anatomy II: Respiration, Circulation,
Blood and Blood Type
Goals: To understand the cardiovascular system by
dissecting a fetal pig. To understand how exercise
affects heart rate and blood pressure; to understand
why blood typing is important for mother/baby and
transfusion incompatibilities.
Basic Mammalian Anatomy III: Urogenital, Review
Goals: To understand the urinary and reproductive
systems by dissecting a fetal pig.
Practical exam
EXAMINATIONS
AND
GRADING
Format of the Examinations
There will be one mini examination, two midterm examinations and one final
examination for the lecture component of the course. Due to the size of the
class, midterm and final examinations will be in multiple choice format. The mini
examination will be given along with the first laboratory quiz during the third
lab. It will cover materials presented in the first three lectures. This
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relatively short examination is intended to provide an early assessment of how a
student is keeping up with the class. The format will be a mixture of multiple
choice and short answer questions. Laboratory quizzes and examinations will be in
fill-in-the-blank and short-answer formats. Drawings, calculations and problem
solving will also be required.
Lecture Examinations (60% of total score)
 mini examination (4%) [this will be combined with quiz I in the laboratory]
 midterm examination I (18%)
 midterm examination II (18%)
 final examination (20%)
Laboratory Assessments (40% of total score)
 quizzes I and II (3% each) [quiz I will be combined with the mini
examination]
 midterm laboratory examination (10%)
 evaluations of laboratory notebook (10%)
 final practical examination (10%)
 participation and attendance (4 %)
Assessment
Perspectives courses must be recertified every five years, and we are seeking ideas for how to best carry out this assessment. What forms of evidence that the course is
meeting its goals as a Perspectives course would be appropriate to collect for this course during the next five years? How would you prefer assessment to be
conducted? How might evidence of effective teaching and student learning be collected and evaluated?
Error!We will develop an entrance quiz comprised of topics that will be covered
during the semester. The questions will be focused on the PLAS criteria and
course goals. The same quiz will be given at the end of the semester and the
degree of improvement in scores will be an indication of teaching/learning
effectiveness.
Administration
What process will your department develop to oversee this course, suggest and approve changes, and conduct assessment? Who will be in charge of this process? Also
indicate whether the course will be primarily taught by full-time or adjunct faculty, or by a combination of the two types of instructor.
The Biology Department curriculum committee in conjunction with the department
Chair will be in charge of the course. This course is part one of a two part
series that uses the same textbook. At the beginning of each year the chair and
curriculum committee will meet with the instructors from both parts to ensure
that the lectures and laboratories are coordinated and consistent. The lecture
component of this course (and course part two) will be team-taught using full
time tenure stream instructors. The department Chair and curriculum committee
will meet with the instructors at the beginning of each year to ensure that
course content meets the established PLAS guidelines. At the end of each year,
the curriculum committee and department Chair will meet with the instructors and
lab assistants to discuss the physical parameters (e.g., Was there enough time
for a certain laboratory session? Were each of the labs completed successfully?)
and the level of intellectual understanding (e.g., Did the students understand
the difference between mitosis and meiosis?). In addition to student comments on
the anonymous QC Institutional Research Instructor evaluation forms, we are
currently exploring ways of including student assessment and input at a meeting
of our evaluating committee.
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